Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Elite Ayrshire Business Circle’s latest new member is West Sound Radio

THE Elite Ayrshire Business Circle is delighted to announce that its latest new member is West Sound Radio.

West Sound AM and West FM are the independent local radio stations serving Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

West Sound Radio station director Brenda Ritchie said: “West Sound is delighted to be joining the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, which allows us to meet regularly with various businesses and business people, all working together to ensure success across Ayrshire and the south west of Scotland.”

Norman Geddes is senior partner at Frazer Coogans Solicitors and executive chairman of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle. He said: “West Sound Radio is the voice of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, and the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle is the voice of Ayrshire business.

“It is excellent news that from today West Sound Radio will be part of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle team working together to promote the local economy.”

West Sound Radio is part of the Bauer Publishing Group.

Under the management of four generations of the Bauer family, the Bauer Publishing Group has grown from its humble beginnings as a printing house into a worldwide publishing empire comprising 238 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as its TV and radio stations.

There are currently 489 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

THE Elite Ayrshire Business Circle is launching a sister organisation in England.

A business networking meeting of prospective members of the newly formed Elite Cambridge Business Circle is being held in the Clydesdale Bank Financial Solutions Centre in Cambridge at 8am next Tuesday 7 April.

Norman Geddes, pictured above, senior partner at Frazer Coogans Solicitors, is executive chairman of 1MarketPlace Ltd, the company behind both the Ayrshire and the Cambridge Business Circles. He said: “We always intended to start to spread the Elite Business Circle concept once we were fully established here in Ayrshire, and Cambridge seemed the ideal next place to go.

“Elite Ayrshire Business Circle founder members William Skinner & Son building contractors have their Southern Division based in Meldreth, near Cambridge, and Clydesdale Bank Financial Solutions Centres, who have been enthusiastic supporters of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle right from the start, also have a branch in Cambridge.

“Cambridge has been named the UK’s most recession-proof city, and the East of England Development Agency has published a paper indicating that Cambridge will grow to the size of Manchester by 2031, with the population increasing from its present figure of 150,000 to 3/400,000.

“Cambridgeshire is brimming over with modern high-tech and bioscience companies, as well as more traditional businesses, and we hope that there will be considerable synergy between our members in Ayrshire and our new colleagues in Cambridge, which can only be to the benefit of the economies of both regions.”

THE ELITE AYRSHIRE BUSINESS CIRCLE

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle is an association founded in 2007 by some of the top companies in Ayrshire.

Its purpose is to publicise its members, and to celebrate and promote the rich diversity of industry, commerce and business services available within the county boundaries of Ayrshire.

Members include the Clydesdale Bank, Ayr Racecourse, Western House Hotel and South Ayrshire Council. and member company activities include building and construction, architectural practice, estate agency and land management, chartered accountancy, insurance broking, legal services, golf club management, marketing services and brand creation, web design and public relations consultancy.

For further information about The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle and to apply for membership, e-mail eliteayrshire@gmail.com

There are currently 488 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

Monday, 30 March 2009

Ayrshire Business Summit event hailed as a great success

THE Ayrshire Business Summit, held in the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock on Tuesday 24 March 2009 has been hailed as a very successful event, attracting an attendance of more than 120 businesses across Ayrshire.

Organised by the Ayrshire Employment Task Force, the aim of the Business Summit was to provide a wide range of information for local businesses about the various forms of assistance and advice which is available to them to sustain and grow their businesses during the current economic and trading difficulties.

Commenting on the Business Summit, Councillor Hugh Hunter, Leader of South Ayrshire Council said: “This joint initiative by the three Councils in Ayrshire clearly demonstrates that our number one focus is on the economic recovery of the area. We will continue to give every support we can to our local business community in these difficult times.”

Councillor Iain Linton, Depute Leader of East Ayrshire Council said: “The Ayrshire Employment Task Force was established recently following several announcements of significant job losses in companies across Ayrshire and the Task Force aims to ensure that co-ordinated and effective support is provided both to help sustain the businesses and support the employees. We are delighted that so many businesses took the opportunity to attend the Business Summit and have the opportunity to talk directly with a wide range of organisations and agencies that are able to provide financial and advisory support.”

Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Martin Cheyne said: “The importance of events such as the Business Summit in providing a forum for local businesses to meet, exchange information and experience and also learn of assistance which may be appropriate for their own circumstances, cannot be underestimated. I know from discussions with many of the attendees at the event that it was found to be extremely helpful and new contacts have been made which will be developed through the provision of direct assistance and support to many local businesses.”

Recognising the success of this Business Summit, the Ayrshire Employment Task Force is now developing proposals to hold a series of other events throughout Ayrshire. In the meantime, businesses which were unable to attend the Business Summit or those who wish further information are invited to make initial contact with their local Business Gateway Office.

The Ayrshire Employment Task Force also wishes to express gratitude to the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock for their generous sponsorship of this event.

The Ayrshire Employment Task Force has recently been formed with the remit to gather and share information about companies which are experiencing particular trading difficulties and to ensure that effective, co-ordinated support is made available to sustain the businesses and support the employees affected.

Established initially within East Ayrshire, the Employment Task Force has now been extended to cover both North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. In addition to the three Councils, members of the Task Force include JobcentrePlus, Scottish Enterprise, Business Gateway, Ayrshire Chamber, the Federation of Small Businesses and Kilmarnock College.

There are currently 487 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).